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Show Volume XXX Issue IV The Ogden Valley News Page 9 December 1, 2022 Northwestern Shoshone – Early Sojourners of Ogden Valley Prior to the permanent settlement of Ogden Valley, this was the summer home to the Northwestern Shoshone, the Newe people, as they were known among themselves. Angawe-ya-dye (where the red berries grow) was the Shoshone name describing this mountain valley hideaway. “Red berries” likely indicates the rich supply of life-sustaining berries found here—elderberry, currents, service berry, hawthorn, and the ever-abundant chokecherry. The Shoshone resided in portable, conically shaped shelters known as kahni-a (tipi) erected with interlocking pine poles wrapped in a buffalo skin covering. Tipis were carefully designed to set up and take down quickly. An entire Shoshone village could be packed up and ready to move on within an hour. the most ecologically efficient and well-adapted Indians of the American West.” In the first half of the 19th Century, this valley fell within the territory of the Northwestern Shoshone, which stretched from Davis County to Northern Idaho and Wyoming to Nevada, led by Chief Sagwitch and Chief Little Soldier. Trappers and explorers, including Peter Skene Ogden, Osborne Russell, and Captain Howard Stansbury, interacted with Shoshone in and around Ogden Valley during this time period. During the settlement years (1850-1900) of Eden, Huntsville and Liberty, frequent encounters between settlers and Shoshone occurred resulting in both trade and friendships. The Shoshone subsisted on critical resources this location provided—water, fish, and small and larger game, along with various berries, roots, and seeds. When immigrants began arriving in the mid 1800’s, competition for these resources soon created conflict. Infectious disease, appropriation of land and water by settlers, the transcontinental railroad, and consequent warfare each played a part in the decimation of the Shoshone population. On January 29, 1863, hundreds of Northwestern Shoshone lost their lives at the infamous Bear River Massacre near Preston, Idaho, some 60 miles north of this Valley location. Today, Northwestern Shoshone no longer frequent Ogden Valley in large numbers as they once did. In spite of their assimilation into modern American society, local Northwestern Shoshone continue to preserve and maintain their identity and rich culture. From The Past . . . Christmas Village from the Past This year is the 60th Anniversary of Ogden’s Christmas Village. If you grew up in the Ogden area, you know how special this annual art installation is to our community. Here’s some pictures of Christmas Village and the opening parade through the years! Christmas Village will open Saturday, November 26 following the Electric Light Parade. Note: Dave Martin of Eden and Darren Parry, former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, contributed to this history. A similar version can be found on Eden’s new historical monument located in the southwest corner of Eden Park. Chief Sagwitch and his wife. In the 19th century, Chief Sagwitch was “an important ally and friend to Latter-day Saints who settled in his people’s homeland of northern Utah. He was born in 1822 and was known for his abilities to negotiate and speak on behalf of his people. His name, Sagwitch, means “speaker” and “orator.” According to church history, Sagwitch and other Shoshone leaders met with Brigham Young in the “Great Salt Lake Valley” just eight days after the Saints arrived in 1847. (See churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/ sagwitch?lang=eng) According to the digital archive “Utah American Indian,” “The Shoshone people were very mobile and skilled at hunting and gathering, and with each change of the season they migrated to obtain the food and other resources they depended on to survive. In the early autumn, the Northwestern Shoshones moved into the region near what is now Salmon, Idaho, to fish. After fishing was over, they moved into western Wyoming to hunt buffalo, elk, deer, moose, and antelope. They sun-dried the meat for winter and used the hides as clothing and shelter. In the spring and summer, the Northwestern Shoshones traveled around southern Idaho and throughout Utah. During these months, they spent their time gathering seeds, roots, and berries and socializing. In late summer, they dug roots and hunted small game. Around late October, the band moved into western Utah and parts of Nevada for the annual gathering of pinyon nuts (or pine nuts), a nutrient-rich food that formed an important part of the Shoshone diet. The wintering home of the Northwestern Shoshones was in an area around what is now Preston, Idaho. Based on these migration patterns, experts have claimed that the Northwestern Shoshones were among Picture of Chief Little Soldier: Chief Little Soldier and the Northwestern Shoshone were at home in Weber County long before the pioneers arrived in 1847. During the particularly harsh winter of 1854, “Little Soldier and his band gave up their guns and lived in Bingham Fort and other forts of Weber County with the white settlers in order to share food that was scarce for all. The plants… that the Shoshone gathered for food had been upset by the farms and grazing animals of the pioneers.” (See binghamsfort.org/category/9-5-brotherhoodstories/a-chief-little-soldier/) The Ogden Valley News is looking for Ogden Valley and Ogden Canyon historical biographies, stories, and photos to use in its publication. Please mail, email, or call Shanna at 801-745-2688 or Jeannie at 801-745-2879 if you have material you would like to share. Dec. 2 Mass at 8:30 a.m. Adoration following. Dec. 8 Mass 5:30 p.m. Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Wednesday Night 5:30 p.m. Saturday Night 6:00 p.m. Sunday Morning 9:00 a.m. Fr. Joshua Marie Santos 801-399-5627 FrJoshuaS.Stambrose@gmail.com Saturday 5:30 p.m Sunday 8:00 a.m. or by appt. Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary, Middle School, and High School Providing a challenging, college-focused education in the proven tradition of Catholic schools, for the families of the Ogden Valley. We want to teach your children! For information on our program, financial assistance, tours, or application, please call 801-393-6051 or 801-394-1515. 2668 Grant Avenue, Suite #104A, Ogden, UT 801-612-9299 |